Home Entertainment Spike Lee receives American Cinematheque Award: ‘Thank you for the support, let’s keep it going’

Spike Lee receives American Cinematheque Award: ‘Thank you for the support, let’s keep it going’

Spike Lee receives American Cinematheque Award: ‘Thank you for the support, let’s keep it going’

Celebrated filmmaker Spike Lee was honored by his peers and associates as he became the 34th recipient of the American Cinematheque Award, for his achievements. 

The honor, usually presented during a tribute dinner, was virtual this year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. However, the event was attended by Lee’s admirers and colleagues in a nicely assembled show, through a video call.

Hosted by Jodie Foster, who previously co-starred with Denzel Washington in Lee’s 2006-released Inside Man the tribute included an innovative feature showing virtual conversations between pairs of various past artists from all fields who have worked with Lee, focusing on a specific film on which they participated. 

Foster and Lee’s conversation continued throughout the show, with Lee opening up about filming ‘Malcolm X’ with Washington, sharing how ‘School Daze’ star Laurence Fishburne made him a better director, detailing his family connections to Morehouse College, and returning to NYU film school as a teacher after attending alongside Ang Lee and Ernest Dickerson in the ’80s.

 Lee also shared perspective on the films that didn’t connect with audiences initially, like “Bamboozled” or “25th Hour,” saying, “You could do that with almost any artist, a novel, a painting, a play… but I think that the good stuff will find an audience sooner or later.”

Filmmaker Ryan Coogler made a special appearance during Lee and Foster’s chat and spoke about the passing of their mutual friend, actor Chadwick Boseman, who starred in Lee’s ‘Da 5 Bloods’ and Coogler’s ‘Black Panther.’

“I haven’t spoken about  Chad publicly beyond, writing some words, but what I will say about Chadwick is that I love him. And I miss him. His talent was so potent that even though he was only with us for a limited amount of time, he gave us so much,” Coogler said. “He gave us an infinite amount of gifts even in that limited amount of time.”

“The character in my film ‘Da 5 Bloods,’ Stormin’ Norman, the way his brothers view him as like almost mythical. As Clarke Peters’ character says, ‘He’s the world’s greatest soldier.’ They revered him,” Lee agreed. “And so you just can’t cast anybody for that, because the way these guys are describing him, he’s mythic. So mythic — you’re talking about an actor who played Jackie Robinson; the Godfather, soul brother number one, James Brown; Thurgood Marshall; then the Black Panther; god damn!”

Displaying the trophy before the virtual audience, Lee thanked his collaborators, adding, “I’m going into my fourth decade. … Thank you for the support you’ve given me over the years. And let’s keep it going.”

 

This article is auto-generated by Algorithm Source: www.wionews.com

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